The Rise of the Magic King
by ZackSkylar
Summary: AU. Uther didn't expect that after the Great Purge a powerful magic force would rise from the ashes. The Magic King defeated Uther and started his reign over Camelot, a country where magic is celebrated and those without it are killed. Arthur escaped from Camelot and arrives in Ealdor where he meets two warlocks. Will they be able to survive the Magic King?
1. Chapter 1 - The Stranger on the Road

**Author's Note: Hello! This is a new Merlin story I've decided to work on. I wanted to challenge myself with it a bit so I'm working with Merlin being autistic (something I know bits and pieces about as I'm high on the autistic spectrum and I know lots of other autistic people, and as it is (albeit the end) of autism awareness month it seemed like a fun thing to try). As a disclaimer in respect to this: this is just one fictional presentation of autism, not all people with autism will act like the character created and visa versa. This is just one way of presenting some autistic characteristics. If you want to learn more about autism then the National Autistic Society website is a good place to learn more. Disclaimer finished :D Hope you enjoy it, I'll try to update regularly (and points to the people who are able to tell what I'm going on about in the first sentence :D).**

"One, One, Two, Three, Five, Eight, Thirteen, Twenty-One, Thirty-Four, Fifty-Five, Eighty-Nine." Merlin repeated as he sat at the desk, his black hair particularly messy this morning. Everyone else was asleep, Merlin was never able to sleep through the sunrise. So he had gotten up and had started thinking, which normally led his back to this thought, "One, One, Two, Three, Five, Eight, Thirteen, Twenty-One, Thirty-Four, Fifty-Five, Eighty-Nine."

He was watching out of the window as the sun rose up above Ealdor. It was a small village with only six buildings: a fact Merlin did not like, he had contemplated knocking one down to make it a better number, but his mother disapproved of this so his brother and him decided to make a model with two extra houses that was currently on the desk beside him. They didn't really have the supplies to make two more houses, so Merlin was content with this - though he would rather knock one of them down.

A squirrel ran across the road, it's red fur wet from dew. It was chasing something around, darting near fence posts and between crops, but Merlin couldn't see what it was. He took a breath in and then his eyes glowed yellow, he felt his vision shift from where he could see to where the squirrel was going. He followed it for a while, and then noticed that there was another squirrel appearing infront of it.

The two squirrels chased each other for a moment, and then went over to investigate a body that was lying in the middle of the road.

"Mum!" Merlin called, he could hear his mother groaning slightly as she woke up, "What is it Merlin?" "There's an unconscious...man on the road just outside of the village."

She jumped out of bed upon hearing this, "Is he alright?"

"Well. He's unconscious." Merlin commented, she glared at him. He knew that she didn't like it when he stated the obvious, but he didn't like it when she asked obvious questions so they were both in the wrong, "He looked dehydrated. Didn't seem to have any other injuries apart from some squirrel teeth marks on his ear."

Hunith was quickly throwing on some clothes, "Merlin, you go to him. Mordred and I will come to you as soon as we can." At this point she looked over at the other bed and shouted over, "Mordred! Mordred get up! There's someone in trouble." At this point a boy, a bit younger than Merlin, sat up and started to get out of bed.

Merlin started to walk up the road. It was a bit cold out, so Merlin was a bit irritated that he hadn't brought his jacket with him, but he was sure that he'd be ok for a few minutes. Perhaps hauling the body would help to warm him up. He walked quickly to where the squirrels had been before and saw the man on the road. He could tell he was a man this time, while before he had seen the wavy blonde hair and wasn't totally sure.

He knelt down infront of his face, "Hello. Are you doing ok apart from being unconscious?" Merlin asked, not expecting an answer, but it was polite to say something before you picked someone up. The man was wearing a few bits of armour, so Merlin removed these before he tried to lift him, he looked like he would be heavy enough without all of that. He then took a step back and his eyes glowed orange again. The man started to levitate in the air infront of Merlin.

Merlin started to walk back to the house with the man floating infront of him. It was taking a reasonable amount of effort to hold him, but he knew that it was probably safer to do it this way then for him to try and lift him himself. He was famous in the village for being able to trip over his own feet, even without anything else to focus on other than walking.

As they came towards the house, his mother and his, quite tired looking, brother were coming towards them. His brother's eyes glowed and then Merlin felt a bit of relief as he helped to bring the man inside. They went into the house and placed him down on the bed. His mother quickly started to examine him, "You were right Merlin, other than being unconscious and dehydrated, he seems to be fine. We just need to get some fluids into him and let him rest for a bit. Mordred, can you get me some fresh water from the well?" Mordred nodded and then picked up a bucket and walked out the door, "Merlin, can you keep an eye on him and try and get him to drink? I need to go and let everyone else know what has happened."

"Yeah, sure." Merlin replied, he then pulled his stool from the desk over and placed it next to the bed. His mother left, leaving Merlin with the man who lay very still on the bed. Merlin traced his eyes over him. He looked well built and quite strong, so him falling unconscious meant that he was probably running from somewhere. The armour he had before was good quality, something that a knight might have, but if he was a knight then he was quite unfortunate.

"Maybe he's come from Camelot?" Merlin thought, as the man infront of him let out a small groan and tossed his head from side to side. Camelot. The kingdom that had now fallen. Everyone knew what had happened by now. Everyone had heard the story of the Magic King, a man with tremendous power who came at the end of the old King Uther's great purge to bring vengeance against him. He had come and taken Camelot apart, breaking down the walls in minutes and had taken Uther's life seconds later.

The tales were grim. The Magic King has since been gathered up people without magic and killing them, seeking to rid the plague that had spread around people, the plague of not being able to use magic. He claimed that only those who can use magic deserve to live and only through them will a better future be formed.

Merlin didn't like him. Well, he hadn't met the man, but from what he was saying it meant that everyone in Ealdor apart from Merlin and Mordred should be killed. He liked everyone in Ealdor, therefore he did not like the Magic King who was threatening them.

So far they had managed to evade him, through being a very small village in a very remote part on the outskirts of the kingdom, but they knew that they would come eventually. They knew, yet they decided to stay. Part of this was because of the M brothers, Merlin and Mordred, who they all knew now had powerful magic that could protect them, but also it was because they doubted that there was anywhere safer. If the Magic King could take down Camelot so easily, then they didn't stand a chance. The best they could do is to stay hidden, and Ealdor is pretty well hidden.

Mordred returned with the water and passed the bucket to him, "Thank you." Merlin replied, and Mordred smiled. Mordred didn't talk, something that Merlin liked. It made it nice and quiet when the two were together. Mordred was able to communicate effectively though. He had all of the usual methods of body language, gestures, that sort of stuff, but he could also use magic. He would often send images into Merlin's head that they would look at. Occasionally he would speak words into his head, but Merlin didn't like that as it sounded weird, so they tried to just send images.

Merlin put a cup in the water and then used magic to hold the man up. He then put the cup to his lips and started to pore it gently, which put a little bit of water into his mouth and a little bit on the bed sheets. He then gave him some time to swallow, and tried again repeating this a few times until the cup was empty. He then lowered him down and allowed him to rest for a bit. He then had an image pop into his head of him waking up with the words "soon" written on it, and Merlin nodded.

The two sat there for a while. Mordred started to read a book that the two had read hundreds of times before, while Merlin hit his fingers against each other while watching the man. Eventually their mother returned with other people from the village who were checking on the boy. Occasionally they would bring food as a way of showing support, which Merlin was glad about - he was often the one cooking food every day.

At the early afternoon (the sun was a little further west then it was east) the boy started to open his eyes. Mordred had popped out to walk, while Merlin stayed to keep an eye on him. The deep blue eyes looked up at Merlin and he slowly started to smile slightly, "I made it out then." He muttered.

"Hello." Merlin said, smiling and looking at his eyes for a second before looking away, "You're in Ealdor, on the Camelot border."

"Ah, Ealdor. Yes, I know the place. I've come here once while on a hunting trip to get provisions. It's a nice village." The man replied, slowly pushing himself up so he was sitting on the bed looking over at Merlin, "My name is Arthur."

"Arthur..." Merlin mulled for a second, then there was silence for a minute, "Wait. Arthur. Does that mean you're Arthur Pen-"

"Yes. But don't say it, you don't know who might be nearby." Arthur interrupted quickly.

"You don't have to worry. No one in Ealdor is aligned with the Magic King. Only two of us have magic, my brother and I, and we would never side with him." Arthur seemed to look a bit frightening, so Merlin tried to reassure him some more, "Our mother doesn't have magic, so he would try to kill her if he could, which we would never allow."

"Right. Ok." Arthur replied slowly. He seemed to be scanning the area. Maybe he was looking for his possessions?

"I had to leave your armour earlier, you would have been a bit heavy otherwise. I think another member of the village has got it."

"Are you calling me heavy?" Arthur smirked, causing Merlin to smile.

"You were a bit heavy." Merlin stated, "You should probably try to lose some weight, it may be bad for your health."

Arthur laughed, though it didn't sound like a happy laugh, "Yeah, well there are some things happening at the moment that are a bit worse for my health than my diet plans." Merlin laughed, causing Arthur to raise his eyebrows. Merlin then realised that it was probably not meant to be a joke, "So you have a brother and a mother?"

"Yes. They are out at the moment, but should be back soon."

"Good." Arthur nodded, "So...are you going to tell me your name at any time soon?"

"Oh!" Merlin replied, realising what the silence earlier was probably for, "Sorry, I'm Merlin."

"Ok, Merlin. Thank you for taking me in." He then held out his hand. Merlin didn't like the idea of this, but took his hand and shook it quickly. Arthur was smiling, "Do you have anything that I can eat? I'm starving."

"Sure, but it might be good for your weight if you don't." Merlin replied as he stood up and headed to the kitchen, he then felt a pillow hit him in the back of his head. He turned to see Arthur grinning, "Sorry! I thought that that may help with your idiocy problem, because you're obviously an idiot if you think I need to diet."

"Fine, whatever you say." Merlin muttered as he headed over to the various dishes of food that had been delivered. He prepared the food and gave it to Arthur who engulfed it and quickly asked for more, which Merlin advised that he should probably be careful with to which Merlin got another pillow thrown at him, this time to his face.

After he had finished that bowlful, Arthur looked straight at Merlin, "Do you think I could stay here for a while Merlin? I don't have anywhere else I can go."

Merlin nodded and smiled, "I'm sure that is ok. We have to ask my Mum, but she likes to have people around, so I'm sure it is ok."

"Thanks." Arthur smiled, "Just don't comment on my weight so much, ok?"


	2. Chapter 2 - May it Never End

It had been a month since Arthur had arrived in Ealdor, and overall he was settling in quite...

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted, as he ran from the fields out towards the village. Hunith was nearby and watched with a smirk on her face as Arthur, who appeared to be covered in manure. As he came nearby, he stopped and walked towards her, "Hunith, have you seen Merlin?"

"I haven't sorry Arthur, but should I tell him to run if I see him?" She teased.

"He'd better." Arthur smirked evilly as he picked up a thick stick and hit it against the palms of his hands. He then started to run off towards the house.

Meanwhile, Merlin was watching from the top of one of the trees in the woods to the side of the village laughing as Arthur stormed around looking for him. He understood that his spell to spread the manure without touching it had some unforseen consequences but he still believed that if Arthur had stayed away like he had said then it wouldn't have happened.

Either way, it was safer to stay out of his way for a bit, and he quite enjoyed watching the village from this height. You could see everything that was happening, viewing it from a distance. It was quite peaceful.

Then a picture came into his head of him falling off of the tree. Merlin smirked, and thought back, "Don't worry. I'm not going to fall. I'm using magic to keep me tied to the tree."

He then saw a picture of Mordred smiling, Merlin thought again, "Are you ok? I know it's been different for a while because of Arthur."

He saw a picture of Mordred nodding, and then of Arthur and him smiling. Merlin smiled, "Yeah, he's alright. He can be a bit of a prat. But he is a good guy, I guess. He is currently threatening hitting me with a stick though, so I'm not sure today."

Another picture formed in his head of an army storming on the village, Merlin frowned, "What? Do you think that they are going to come here."

Just words appeared in his head this time, they read "Of cause they are." Merlin sighed, Mordred was right. They were going to come here and they would kill everyone in the village if they had the chance. "We can't stop them. The most likely thing is everyone's going to die, right?"

Merlin saw a picture of an unsure Mordred. Merlin had thought about it a lot. The most obvious thing would be for them to escape to the various forests around Camelot and hide in them. If they kept on moving then they would be able to escape. But a lot of the villagers did not want to leave and thought that they would be able to fight against the Magic King, something that was, from everything they had seen so far and the fact that they were just ordinary villagers, wrong. It's not going to happen.

Their chance was Merlin and Mordred, but from what Mordred was imagining they did not stand a chance, and Mordred had a gift for knowing what was going to happen. Merlin had asked him about it before, and Mordred had explained that he goes to sleep and then when he wakes up he has an idea of what is going to happen in the future. The tricky thing is whether it is magic or not. Merlin decided to assume a while ago that if Mordred ever told him anything then he should take it as the truth, which meant that they were coming soon.

"Can we get them all to safety somehow?" Merlin asked. Another picture of an unsure Mordred appeared. Merlin sighed, "Ok. I'm going to go and tell Mum."

Merlin's eyes then glowed and he disappeared off of the top of the tree and was back on the ground. He slowly walked towards Hunith, but before he could reach her he was tackled to the ground. Within seconds he was pinned to the ground and unable to move due to the mucky figure above him, "You smell." Merlin commented.

Arthur laughed, and then rubbed his shirt on his transferring manure onto his clothes, "Well so do you now." Merlin frowned, he didn't like the feel of this. It felt quite uncomfortable. "Sorry." Merlin replied. Arthur then sighed, "I guess it's alright. Just next time don't go flinging muck around."

"Next time stay out of the way." Merlin muttered, Arthur then grabbed his shirt and gestured towards his face, Merlin looked straight at the shirt and was scared of what might happen. "Be careful what you say Merlin." Arthur then loosened his grip and stood up, allowing Merlin to get up. Merlin then walked towards the house with Arthur and Merlin got a fresh shirt while Arthur tried to have a bit of a wash (as much as was possible with a bowl of well water). Merlin was currently sharing his clothes with Arthur (luckily Merlin's clothes were a bit too big for him, so they fit Arthur ok), so Merlin made sure to leave him out a different coloured top (he decided a red one, Merlin was feeling like a blue shirt, red neckerchief day). If they matched then it would just be a bit too weird to deal with.

Merlin then remembered what he had been meaning to do and went out to find his mother. She was still where she had been talking to another village. As Merlin approached she finished talking and walked over to him, "Hi Merlin. Are you alright?"

"Mostly." Merlin replied with a smile, knowing this was a nice way to respond, "Mordred thinks that we're going to be invaded soon."

"Oh." Hunith said sadly. There was silence for a few moments as the two stood there.

"What are we going to do?" Merlin asked. Then there was more silence.

"Well. I guess that I'll tell everyone that I can, see if they want to leave and if they do then they can go and if they want to stay then they can stay. It's their choice." Hunith replied, with sadness in her voice.

"But if they stay, they will..."

"Yes Merlin. They probably will. We don't need to say it though." Hunith then started to walk to the first house, leaving Merlin standing in the street.

"Mum." Merlin called out.

"Yes Merlin." She called back, smiling lovingly at him.

"What are we going to do?"

She looked at him for a minute, and then smiled, "I have a plan Merlin. I'll tell you once I've seen everyone." Merlin nodded and she then knocked on the first door. Merlin returned to the house to see Arthur lying on the bed with a book. When he saw Merlin he frowned slightly.

"Are you alright? This isn't about me is it? You got what you deserved earlier." Arthur said gruffly.

"No, it's not you." Merlin muttered as he went over to the bed and sat on the edge facing away from Arthur, "It's the Magic King. Mordred thinks that his army is going to be coming here soon."

Arthur nodded and sat up on the bed, "Ok. So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet. Mum has a plan."

"Do you think that I'm in that plan?" Arthur asked.

"If you want to be, then I'm sure Mum will include you in it." Merlin smiled. Arthur then nodded and smirked.

"Great. I guess that will do for now." Arthur chuckled.

The two sat there for a while. Arthur had tried to talk about what Hunith's plan was, but Merlin didn't respond as he didn't know. Instead he started to recite numbers again, "One, One, Two, Three, Five, Eight, Thirteen, Twenty-One, Thirty-Four, Fifty-Five, Eighty-Nine." Eventually Mordred returned home, though he didn't have any better conversation for Arthur. Arthur had gotten used to this though, and so continued to read his book. Sometimes it was best to just let them do what they were going to do. In the case of Mordred, he was sitting with a bowl of water changing the shape of the water as he wished.

When the sun started to fall Hunith returned, "Hello Merlin, Mordred, Arthur. I managed to tell everyone."

Merlin stopped repeating numbers and asked, "What are they going to do?"

"They're mixed. Some are going to leave and head for the woods, some are going to stay." Hunith replied, "The one's who are staying are not going to fight. They are going to hide and surrender if they need to. They think that there might just get imprisoned."

"We know that they're wrong though." Arthur muttered, and Hunith sighed.

"What about us though?" Merlin asked. Arthur could hear him muttering the numbers under his breath, he was nervous.

"I have a plan for us. Well, a plan for you." Hunith replied, "You are going to leave, tonight."

Merlin felt a sudden panic rise though him as he watched his mother's determined face, "What?"

"I have been sending letters to an old friend of mine. He believes that Arthur is the only one who will be able to stop the Magic King. He thought he found a prophesy that stated that Arthur could defeat him, but for it he would need help." Hunith explained. Mordred then pointed to him and Merlin, "Yes. That means you two."

"But...what about you?" Arthur asked, as Merlin started to mutter a bit louder.

Hunith let out a weak smile, "If we surrender then we may just be imprisoned."

"No! You know that's wrong!" Merlin suddenly shouted.

"We don't know it for sure Merlin." Hunith mumbled.

"But we do know! We've heard the stories. We know how he kills anyone without magic. You are going to die if you do this!" Merlin continued shouting.

"Shut up Merlin." Arthur stated calmly. Merlin continued to shout as tears started to fall down Hunith's face. Arthur then moved himself up the bed and sat next to Merlin, "Merlin. Shut up. Now is not the time for this. Your Mother has made up her mind. It's time to stop."

Merlin wanted to shout. Shouting would make it all better. If the world understood for a second how angry he felt, then maybe something would happen. Magic existed, so surely something like this could happen too. Surely he could awaken something that would protect them from the Magic King. Something that could make all of this easier.

But that wasn't going to happen. Shouting wasn't going to help. Arthur was right.

Merlin stopped shouting and instead ran in and hugged his mother as tight as he could. She returned the hug putting as much pressure in as she could. They stood there for a minute until Merlin started to let go. The embrace finished and Merlin went to sit in the space between the bed and the wall.

Mordred sat silently. He wasn't moving, he was just sat in that moment unable to share how he was feeling. He wanted to shout, he wanted to let it out like Merlin had, but the person who would have to hear him was Merlin and in the state he was in it would break him. Mordred didn't want that.

Instead he picked up a knife and started to carve an image into the floor. Hunith came and sat down near him, watching as he drew the picture of all of them. Next to it he wrote the words, "May it never end." Hunith embraced him, holding him tightly to her. He started to sob as the two sat there, remembering the past. Remembering the things that they did not want to let go.

Arthur sat on the bed next to Merlin, who was repeating numbers to himself slowly. He knew that this was the closest he could be to him at this point. He knew how Merlin felt, as his father had sent him off before he was...Arthur didn't want to think about that. He just continued to sit there, letting Merlin know that he was there.

In the distance, two ladies stood looking over the village. They both wore fine dresses, embroiled with jewels and lined with threads made of precious metals. One lady wore a white dress that shimmered in the dusk light and complimented her light blonde hair. She had silver sown in to compliment her figure, and wore a silver necklace with a large diamond in the middle. The other wore a purple dress, with amethysts sewn in spirals rising up from the bottom. Unlike the other woman, she had black hair and wore a gold belt and a gold necklace, but on her wrist was a bracelet that shone faintly, it's ebony with ancient imagery molded into it with gold looking a bit out of place amongst the rest of the outfit, but somehow like it was meant to be on her wrist.

"Sister. Is this the place?" The lady with black hair asked.

"Yes sister." The other lady responded, "We'll find the boy here, then we can take him back and end the Pendragon line for good."

"Yes."

"You sound troubled Morgana." The blonde haired lady noted. Morgana then shook her head and smiled.

"It's just...I was brought up with Arthur. He is a good man. Uther was not, I understand that. I saw what he did to people with magic for many years. I saw his tyrany and I saw where it spread from. But Arthur doesn't have that...evil inside of him. I just...I don't think we should kill him." Morgana explained. The other lady then held her in her arms.

"It's alright Morgana. You are a kind woman. We can ask him when we get back. We can see if there may be something more...lenient for him. Maybe imprisonment instead? I will ask him for you sister."

"Thank you Morgause." Morgana replied, smiling in a sweet way that meant that nothing could stop Morgause from smiling. The two then returned to looking at the village, "We should signal the forces to come in then, shouldn't we?"

Morgause then laughed, "Sister. Do you not think that we will be enough?"

"Maybe you're right," Morgana laughed. The two then took one last look at the serene setting before they turned it into a battlezone.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Witch and the Prince

Fireballs. The first thing that Merlin saw were fireballs raining down from the sky. Then he heard the crash as they fell into the ground and into the houses. He then felt the shockwave that passed through every object, shaking things to the ground and knocking him off balance. After that was the smell of burning, the feeling of heat. Next was what was happening around him, the overwhelming fear coming off of his brother and mother. Then he noticed the absence of fear coming from Arthur and noticed a small smile forming.

It was then he decided he wanted to look at his eyes for a second, they were looking right at him.

"Merlin. I'm going out there, are you coming?" He asked. Merlin looked away from his eyes, but then let out a small smile.

"Well, you wouldn't last a minute out there without me." Merlin smirked as Arthur let out a small laugh.

"You know what, you might be right." Arthur sighed as he stood up. He then turned to Hunith and smiled. "Hunith. Stay inside. I'll try to keep you all safe, you have my word." He then saw a look of worry still present in her face, "And I'll protect Merlin. He will be safe."

"He can't keep me safe from any of this," Merlin thought as he felt the fire colliding with more parts of the village, "It's up to me to keep everyone safe. It's up to me...It's up to me. Oh brilliant. Just what I need. It's up to me." He then turned and noticed Arthur was facing him again, he said "It will be alright Merlin. We can do this." Merlin laughed, but he knew that in the situation this was the best thing that could be said. At least he had someone by his side during all of this.

He then saw Mordred, who was cowering away from everything. He just seemed to want to vanish. Merlin thought to him, "Mordred. It's ok. You don't need to come with us. Stay here and look after our mother. Keep her safe."

Mordred nodded, and that was that. Arthur picked up his sword, that he had kept in good condition since he came to the village. He then opened the door and the two ran outside and entered a completely different scene to what they saw when they came in.

Everything was red. The fields that they had spent a long time cultivating were now ablaze and completely unusable. Some part of Merlin was a little bit happy, as one of the houses was now almost completely destroyed, but seeing as though all of them were burning a little bit, it was likely that there would be no houses when morning came, which would not be good.

Though he didn't have time to think of the scenery. A fireball was coming down on the position where he was standing. Merlin lifted his hand up and his eyes glowed as the fireball shrank and then disappeared. He then looked and saw Arthur in the middle of the road with his sword drawn. Merlin ran out to join him and then saw what he saw. Two woman were coming down the road towards them. The fireballs had stopped, but Merlin could tell that these woman could have continued using them for much longer, which meant one thing. They wanted to talk to them, and more likely wanted to talk to Arthur.

Arthur looked pained. "Who are they?" Merlin asked.

Arthur sighed, "The blonde haired one, I don't know. She turned up while I was in prison a few days before I escaped, but I don't know anything else about her. However, the other one is...Morgana. She was my Father's ward. She was...like a sister to me."

"Did you know she had magic?"

Arthur looked annoyed, "Of cause I didn't know she had magic Merlin. It wasn't something you discussed around my Father. If she did she would have been killed where she stood."

"Even though she was his ward?"

Arthur sighed, "Now's not the time to talk about my Father's shortcomings, nor is there a time coming up soon where I will want to talk about this Merlin."

"Ok." Merlin knew that he had struck a nerve, and they did have more important things to deal with now. Like the two witches walking over to them. Merlin decided it was best to stay quiet and let Arthur deal with this.

"Hello Arthur." Morgana called out as they approached, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it's had to come to this."

"Morgana...just why? Why would you betray us like this? Why would you betray Father? He thought the world of you!" Arthur shouted.

"You know the reason Arthur!" Morgana retorted, "I was having nightmares...nightmares that were coming true. I didn't know at the time, but I feared that it was magic and you know exactly how he would have responded if he knew I had magic. I would have been just another person being beheaded or burnt at the stake. He was...mad. He could not see how his war against magic had hurt so many people in the process. He had no loyalty for me...not like you do."

"What?" Arthur replied.

"You have always supported me Arthur. You may have been an idiot countless times, but you have always been like a brother to me. I have thought about it a lot and I'd imagine, if you have become king, then you wouldn't have had me killed just because I was born a certain way. You are a just and noble man. That is why I am offering you a choice. You can come back with us peacefully, and we will do our hardest to make sure that you are given the same curtosy. That you are not killed because you were born the way you were." Morgana explained, "You just need to come with us peacefully."

"Morgana..." Arthur then put his sword down slightly, "Morgana. Don't you see how the Magic King is just as bad? He may have opposed Father, but he is just the same. If Father was insane with hate then so is he! Even if you are able to save my life, how about everyone else? I will not let other people die while I am safe just because I...I was lucky." He let out a weak smile to Morgana.

"I see." She replied, and there was silence for a second. "Have you made up your mind then?"

"Yes." Arthur replied. Everyone knew his answer and started to prepare for what was coming next. Arthur raised his sword up again.

"So be it. I am sorry Arthur. I'm so sorry." Morgana called out sadly. She then threw her hands forwards and a shockwave hit against Arthur and Merlin knocking them up into the air. As they flew up, Merlin's eyes glowed and their impact to the ground was cushioned. The two quickly stood up and looked over as the two woman were preparing for another spell.

"Arthur. Run!" Merlin shouted as he stepped forwards and held his hands out. A whirlwind formed infront of him and pushed towards the woman knocking them away from each other. Arthur hadn't moved, he instead shook his head.

"Merlin. If I run then they will kill everyone here. They will kill your mother and your brother. They will kill you. I have to fight!" Arthur shouted as he lifted his sword up. He then grabbed a lid from a wooden box and found a place he could hold it so he could use it like a shield, "Merlin if you can hold back the other woman then I'll see if I can stop Morgana."

"Arthur, I don't think we have much of a chance. They are too strong."

"Oh don't say that Merlin. Never say that." Arthur grinned, "There is something I've learnt about battle over the years, one important thing. It's not the sword that wins, it's the heart. I can win. Do you think you can?"

"No." Merlin stated. Arthur laughed, "But I guess I can try."

"That's the spirit Merlin." Arthur smirked, "Can you help me to get to Morgana and then keep them apart?"

"Yes." Merlin answered. Arthur then smiled. The two then looked over at the woman who were getting to their feet. Merlin then pushed his arms out at the other woman, knocking her to the ground again. Morgana shot lightening through the sky between them towards him, but Merlin quickly threw his arm towards it and caused it to ricochade into the sky. Arthur then ran as fast as he could towards Morgana. When he was nearby he raised his sword and Merlin drew fire from the buildings and changed it into a wall between them that raised up high into the sky.

At this point the other woman was standing again and smirking, "How did Arthur find someone like you? You're quite remarkable boy. I'm sure that the Magic King would be interested in you. You could stop now and return with us."

"No, I don't think so." Merlin muttered, "Arthur wouldn't let me live that down. He moans a lot when I do something wrong. He'd probably moan a lot if I did that. And you know, I don't like it when people kill other people."

The woman laughed, "Fine then. You've picked the wrong person to say that to. Unlike my sister, I am not opposed to getting my hands dirty when I need to." She smirked. Then suddenly vines exploded from under the ground and flew towards Merlin, trying to wrap him. Merlin's eyes glowed and fire spread all around him, stopping the vines from getting near. He then tried to push her to the ground again, but she had moved quickly and was darting towards him, a sword appearing in her hand out of nowhere. Merlin didn't have enough time to push her. Instead he quickly sent a little bit of energy underneath him and pushed himself into the air. He jumped up a few feet and then crashed down towards the ground softening his impact as he fell behind the woman.

He turned towards her, but then he felt a shockwave push against him hitting him into the ground hard. He felt the air escape his lungs and pain coming from his chest. He turned back to the woman and noticed her muttering some words. He felt something strange happening to his body. First he started to feel numb, but then he started to feel...nothing. He couldn't feel his legs. He tried to move them but he suddenly wasn't able to. Merlin started to breathe quicker. Until now he had forgotten about himself, he was running on adrenhalin. But now, he was going to die. If she was able to stop him from moving, then she was going to stab him with that sword.

But something was awakening within him. Some sort of instinct, something that he had been using all this time to do magic but deeper. Something that told him to wait. Wait until everything was right.

He felt all the feeling leave his body, so that all he could do was hear her stepping towards him. He then saw her, with her sword raised above him ready to strike.

Now.

His eyes glowed one more, and there was an explosion above them. The sword shattered as it flew out of the womans' hand, and she was thrown backwards. Merlin suddenly felt feeling return to his body. He quickly got up and looked over at the woman. Her body was limp, however he could see her chest moving. She was unconscious from the blow.

He knew what he had to do next. He lowered the flame wall and ran over the field. He then stopped when he saw Arthur with a sword to his neck. Morgana looked over to Merlin.

"It was too easy really. When you know magic, it puts the advantage in everything towards you. There is a reason why only people with magic should live. It makes all of us more...able. Imagine if everyone could use it. There would be no sickness, everything would be so easy. We could all be so happy." Morgana stated.

Merlin shook his head, "There may be no sickness, and things may be easy. But without the people I love, I could never be happy, and I love people with and without magic. I could not live withou them."

Morgana let out a small smile, "That is fair." She then motioned up and Arthur was forced to stand up with her, "Then I have one thing to say to you. If you want them to live, then don't follow us."

Her eyes glowed and suddenly a tornado started to take her, Arthur and the other woman away. Merlin shouted and ran towards them, reaching his hand out towards Arthur. But then they were gone. Merlin stood in the middle of the wreckage. The danger was gone...but so was Arthur, and he was now in grave danger.

Mordred and his Mother came out from the house and walked towards him. Merlin turned towards them, "Mum. I have to go after them, don't I? That's the right thing to do?"

She smiled a gigantic smile, one that took away all of the darkness around them, "Yes. That is the right thing to do, yes. Go after them Merlin. Save Arthur."

Merlin nodded, "Will you be safe?"

She nodded, "We'll be safe."

Merlin looked at Mordred, who was giving Merlin an odd look, a look he didn't understand. Merlin tried to listen to him, but he was saying nothing. Merlin thought to him, "Mordred. It's al-".

Merlin then felt like a door slammed. Mordred didn't want to talk to him. Merlin nodded. He understood. He knew how Mordred felt, he knew what had happened to him that made him react that way. But he also knew that he couldn't let Mordred come with him. Not at the moment.

"You all need to leave here. It's not safe. Mordred will be able to keep you safe, but if they send their army here then you will all die, and if I go after Arthur then they will send them here. You need to go into the woods. I will find you again. We will all spend time together again." Merlin instructed. His mother was smiling.

"I'm proud of your Merlin."

"I know." Merlin nodded. He then closed his eyes and took a minute. He knew the spell he needed to use to get him to Camelot. He just needed to remember what Camelot looked like. He had seen a picture once or twice in a book, hopefully that would be enough. He focussed on it and opened his eyes, "Bye then." He smiled and then he was gone.


End file.
